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NBL Canada: Lightning lock in, tighten up, down Hurricanes in Halifax

Author of the article:

Paul Vanderhoeven

Publishing date:

January 22, 2020 • 3 minute read

The London Lightning's Anthony Gaines Jr. drives to hoop for two against the Halifax Hurricanes' Antoine Mason, duringNational Basketball League of Canada action in Halifax on Tuesday. The Lightning won 112-101. (Tim Krochak/ The Chronicle Herald)

The London Lightning stumbled in the second quarter but managed to grind out their seventh straight win, beating the Hurricanes 112-101 Tuesday night in National Basketball League of Canada action at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.

Mareik Isom led the charge with 24 points and nine rebounds as the Bolts rode a strong defensive effort in the second half to improve to 8-1 in the first stop in their two-game East Coast road swing.

Xavier Moon and AJ Gaines Jr. had 21 and 18 points with eight and nine rebounds, mostly in the second half.

The Lightning outscored the Hurricanes 23-16 in the third quarter for a 78-72 lead and the Bolts pulled away to a 10-point advantage midway through the fourth quarter.

The London Lightning’s Randy Phillips, centre, tries to grab a loose ball in front of Halifax Hurricanes player Joel Kindred, during National Basketball League of Canada action in Halifax on Tuesday. The Lightning won 112-101. (Tim Krochak/ The Chronicle Herald)

“I challenged the guys to turn up the intensity and the pressure defensively,” Lightning coach Doug Plumb said. “Our goal was to wear them down in the third quarter and not leave it to be a tight game going into the fourth, because you never know what can happen on the road.

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“The guys were great. They locked in, they tightened up with the scouting report and they executed their assignments.”

Marcus Capers, who finished with 17 points, helped the Lightning to a fast start, going three-for-three from beyond the arc as London led 29-25 after the first quarter, but the Hurricanes held a 56-55 edge at halftime.

Plumb said it was another total team effort with contributions up and down the lineup.

“I thought Marcus Capers shot the ball phenomenally,” Plumb said. “He’s shooting the ball as good as anyone in the league right now. He put in a lot of work over the course of the offseason. Mareik Isom had a great game off the bench. AJ Gaines had a fantastic game offensively and defensively. And Xavier is Xavier. He’s a warrior.”

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Plumb added this year’s Lightning team is deep in character as well as talent.

“We have guys who are emotionally resilient,” Plumb said. “If it’s not their night, they don’t go to the sideline and sulk. They cheer for their teammates . . . and everything is just about winning, which makes my job a heck of a lot easier.”

C.J. Washington led the Hurricanes with 29 points. Chris Johnson had 18 and Joel Kindred and Antoine Mason scored 15.

Mason went into Tuesday’s game leading the NBLC with 25.2 points a game, but he had five fouls seven minutes into the third quarter and did most of his scoring when the game was out of reach for Halifax.

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Hurricanes president and general manager Mike Leslie was back on the bench as coach for his third game. Leslie, head coach for three years before stepping away to let Ryan Marchand take the helm, returned after Halifax’s 1-5 start. Marchand went back to his former role as assistant coach.

The Hurricanes (2-8) are 1-2 under Leslie after splitting a weekend series with the defending NBLC champion Moncton Magic.

The Lightning play the Atlantic Division-leading Magic (6-2) Thursday night in Moncton.